Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor

The Eighth Doctor, played by Paul McGann, only had the opportunity to appear on screen once during his official ‘run’, the star of an attempted Anglo-American reboot of the franchise in 1996. At the time Doctor Who existed largely as a memory, a show which had been cancelled almost a decade prior. McGann was introduced as the official Eighth Doctor in a TV-movie which saw the character come to life and engage in battle with “The Master”, as unconvincingly played by an uncaring Eric Roberts. The movie, which often felt like a compromise project which could never satisfyingly stay true to the original series whilst appeasing the need for Americanisation, did not lead to continued adventures for McGann.

Although the actor would eventually return to the role just once, to film an out-of-sequence death scene for his character, the Eighth Doctor was adrift: a promising set-up for a Doctor who didn’t have a home.

But despite the movie being less-than-fondly remembered, McGann’s Doctor has been reclaimed by fans over the years. He couldn’t appear onscreen, but he did appear in a series of audio productions, most notably by the company Big Finish. The Doctor finally got to explore who he was, meet new companions, and save the Galaxy in his unique way.

And with his ‘Reneightassance” came comics, most recently at Titan. Since attaining the license to make Doctor Who stories, the publisher have started releasing miniseries telling stories with past Doctors – and so Eight was able to make another unlikely return in 2016 thanks to George Mann and Emma Vieceli. Shall we?